Best PlacesEl Paso County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in El Paso County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
El Paso County ranks 1,538th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on cell coverage and the weather. The weaker spots are civic engagement, air quality, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in El Paso County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in El Paso County
The parts of El Paso County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Homestead Meadows South
More households have young kids, fewer homes sit empty, and crime runs lower.
El Paso
More adults hold degrees and local pay stretches further.
Fort Bliss
Biking is better, though heat risk is higher.
Homestead Meadows North
Streets are more car-dependent and health care is harder to reach.
Socorro, Horizon City & San Elizario
It is quieter, though transit reaches fewer jobs.
El Paso County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
El Paso County's strengths and weaknesses
El Paso County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Cell coverage is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. The weather and transit follow.
The one real hole is civic engagement, near the bottom of the country. Air quality and property taxes also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where El Paso County ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 176 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of counties
- TransitBetter than 93% of counties
- BikingBetter than 92% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
Where El Paso County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in El Paso County
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median El Paso County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,021, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses El Paso County's effective rate of 1.78%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in El Paso County
El Paso County runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for El Paso County.
Who works in El Paso County, and how
Work in El Paso County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in El Paso County
El Paso County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of counties and more parkland per resident than 69% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of El Paso County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is El Paso County growing, and who is moving in?
El Paso County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Dallas, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving El Paso County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in El Paso County, month by month
El Paso County sees roughly 176 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 100 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 47° | 32° |
| April | 84° | 69° | 52° |
| July | 100° | 87° | 73° |
| October | 84° | 69° | 55° |
Flying in and out of El Paso County
The nearest airport, El Paso International, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 225 miles away.
The best schools in and around El Paso County
Schools across El Paso County average a C+, better than 53% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Marguerite J Lundy ElA− · 58% proficient
- Polk ElA− · 56% proficient
- Tippin ElB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hornedo MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Idea Edgemere College PreparatoryB+ · 49% proficient
- Wiggs MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Silva Health MagnetA+ · 80% proficient
- Transmountain Early College H SA · 73% proficient
- Clint Isd Early College AcademyA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every El Paso County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
El Paso County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare El Paso County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who El Paso County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in El Paso County
Is El Paso County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, El Paso County ranks 1,538th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cell coverage, the weather, and transit, and lowest on civic engagement and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is El Paso County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $190,799. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $66,021 median income, cost of living beats 46% of counties.
Is El Paso County safe?
El Paso County is safer than 34% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $490 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in El Paso County?
July highs average about 100 degrees, and January highs near 62 with lows near 32. That works out to about 176 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in El Paso County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Homestead Meadows South, El Paso, and Fort Bliss. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is El Paso County good for families?
Schools beat 53% of counties, crime safety beats 34%, and childcare runs $564 a month.
Is El Paso County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 46% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 78% of counties. About 9% of workers already work from home.
Compare El Paso County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to El Paso County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in El Paso County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
El Paso County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for El Paso County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in El Paso County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of El Paso County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in El Paso County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
El Paso County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.